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Nearly every grade in the Perham-Dent school system tested at or above the state average, with two exceptions: Hispanic and special education students.

Results of the Average Yearly Progress (AYP) statewide tests are in, and the Perham-Dent School Board discussed the results at length at the August 13 meeting.

Hispanic students, based on 21 tests from grades k-12, were not achieving "adequate yearly progress in reading." Further, special education students, based on 120 tests school district-wide, also did not make AYP in reading.

School by school, the only building that didn't make AYP was Prairie Wind Middle School--based on 66 tests taken by special education students in which they did not meet the standard in either reading or math.

Superintendent Tamara Uselman described the big picture of the test scores as "stellar" for the region.

It was only those two categories: Students with disabilities and the many students who speak a language other than English as their primary language, noted Uselman.

AYP is a part of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. It is a measure of year-to-year student achievement on the statewide assessments in reading and math.

AYP measures schools', districts', and the state's progress toward the goal of 100 percent of students proficient on the Minnesota Academic Standards in reading and math. AYP is a minimum standard of proficiency that a school or district must achieve each year on the annual assessments and related academic indicators.

The school board instructed administration to form a plan to analyze the data and determine a plan of action for Hispanic and special education students.